Abstract

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Lit Review [[1]]


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Abstract

Urban Archives: Building public memories of everyday places 434 words

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites who are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities.

In this essay, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed -- contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the processes described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the study of vernacular urban texts.

While institutional archives tend to focus narrowly on traditional forms such as “historic” architecture or official documents, the emerging types of populist documentation on the Internet lack consistent annotation, or metadata. We combine emerging technologies -- folksonomies, structured metadata, geolocation-- with accessible media – mainly photography and physical artifacts -- and academically-rigorous methods to map landscapes and annotate their semiotic content.

We view the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs: the "landscape [as] a mirror" (Jakle, 1987). We actively explore the meanings of public, private, and liminal spatial narratives in order to actively participate in the shifting (re)definitions of public spaces. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment, we glean insights into our local histories and cultures.

In this chapter, we highlight several case studies as examples of the Urban Archives project. We discuss the geographically unique narratives of cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We investigate networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) in both static and mobile forms (e.g. billboards and signs to cars and buses). Not only do these networks yield temporary and permanent artifacts, but their participants range from official authorities to illicit actors. In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle composed of interwoven signs, competing stories, diverse actors, and social boundaries in constant flux.


here are my edits (bold and uppercase) -- Gi. thanks Gi

Urban Archives: Building digital public memories of everyday places

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites who are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities.

In this chapter, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed as doctoral researchers and instructors at the University of Washington – contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the processes described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.

While institutional archives tend to focus narrowly on traditional forms such as “historic” architecture or official documents, the emerging types of populist documentation on the Internet lack consistent annotation, or metadata. We combine emerging technologies -- folksonomies, structured metadata, geolocation-- with accessible media --MAINLY PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL ARTIFACTS -- and academically-rigorous methods to map landscapes and annotate their semiotic content.

We view the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs: the "landscape [as] a mirror" (Jakle, 1987). <DELETE THIS PART> Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. We actively explore the meanings of public, private, and liminal spatial narratives in order to actively participate in the shifting (re)definitions of public space. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment, <DELETE THIS PART>that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, we glean insights into our local histories and cultures.

In this chapter, we highlight several case studies as examples of the Urban Archives project. We discuss the geographically unique narratives of cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We investigate networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) in both static and mobile forms (e.g. billboards and signs to cars and buses). Not only do these networks yield temporary and permanent artifacts, but their participants range from official authorities to illicit actors. In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle <DELETE>made composed of interwoven signs, competing stories, diverse actors, and social boundaries in constant flux.


As of now the abstract is 524 words...is the limit 400? Gi. here's 488 do you see anything to cut? i think its ok if its a little too long.

Urban Archives: Building public memories of everyday places

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites who are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities.

In this chapter, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed as doctoral researchers and instructors at the University of Washington – contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the processes described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.

While institutional archives tend to focus narrowly on traditional forms such as “historic” architecture or official documents, the emerging types of populist documentation on the Internet lack consistent annotation, or metadata. We combine emerging technologies -- folksonomies, structured metadata, geolocation-- with accessible media --photography, audio recordings, physical artifacts -- and academically-rigorous methods to map landscapes and annotate their semiotic content.

We view the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs: the "landscape [as] a mirror" (Jakle, 1987). Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. We actively explore the meanings of public, private, and liminal spatial narratives in order to actively participate in the shifting (re)definitions of public space. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, we glean insights into our local histories and cultures.

In this chapter, we highlight several case studies as examples of the Urban Archives project. We discuss the geographically unique narratives of cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We investigate networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) in both static and mobile forms (e.g. billboards and signs to cars and buses). Not only do these networks yield temporary and permanent artifacts, but their participants range from official authorities to illicit actors. In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle made composed of interwoven signs, competing stories, diverse actors, and social boundaries in constant flux.


Latest abstract version. still cutting.


Urban Archives: Building digital public memories of everyday places

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites that are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities. In our chapter, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed as doctoral researchers and teachers at the University of Washington – contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the process described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.


While institutional archives tend to focus narrowly on traditional forms such as architecture or documents, the emerging types of populist documentation on the Internet lack consistent annotation, or metadata. We combine emerging technologies -- folksonomies, structured metadata, geolocation-- with accessible media --photography, audio recordings, physical artifacts -- and academically-rigorous methods to map landscapes and annotate their semiotic content for research.


We view the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs: the "landscape [as] a mirror" (Jakle, 1987). Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. By analyzing the city’s ephemeral narratives as they change, we develop ways to annotate the digital archives' content in ways that will be meaningful for researchers. Furthermore, we actively explore the meanings of public, private, and liminal spatial narratives in order to actively participate in the shifting (re)definitions of public space.

In an ongoing effort to discover geographically unique narratives and assemble ethnographic case studies, we study the cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We investigate networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) in both static and mobile forms (e.g. billboards and signs to cars and buses). Not only do these networks yield temporary and permanent artifacts, but their participants range from official authorities to illicit actors. This project documents the actions of the full spectrum of stakeholders, especially from marginalized and under-represented ones.

In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle made composed of interwoven signs, competing stories, diverse actors, and social boundaries in constant flux. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, to offer insights into our local histories and cultures for future scholars and citizens alike.


I vote for

Urban Archives: Digital archiving to build a public memory of everyday places

Giorgia's title proposals

-- here's another one - Urban Archives: Digital archiving to build a public memory of everyday places

1. Urban Archives: Building digital memories of public space

2. Urban Archives: Building digital memories of urban spaces for public use

3. Urban Archives: Digital memories of place and their potential for uses in research and by the public

4. Urban Archives: Building digital collective memory of place and pulbic spaces.

Tentative Title: Urban Archives: using digital technologies to build a collective memory of places

please help

Tom's edits

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites that are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities. In our chapter, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed as doctoral researchers and teachers at the University of Washington – contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the process described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.


While institutional archives tend to focus narrowly on traditional forms of documentation such as architecture or documents, the emerging types of populist documentation on the Internet (such as “folksonomies”) tend to lack consistent annotation, or metadata. We combine emerging technologies --folksonomies, structured metadata, geolocation-- with accessible media --photography, audio recordings, physical artifacts-- and academically-rigorous methods to map landscapes and annotate their semiotic content for research.


We view the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs that can be valuable to researchers: the "landscape [as] a mirror" (Jakle, 1987). Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. By documenting analyzing the city’s ephemeral communication artifacts narratives as they change over time, we develop ways to annotate the digital archives' content in ways that can will be meaningful for researchers. Furthermore, we actively explore the meanings of public, private, and liminal spatial narratives in order to actively participate in the shifting (re)definitions of public space.


Committed to public scholarship, we begin our study at a local level collecting artifacts, be they images, interviews, found objects, or texts, for example, on a local level.<strike> <strike>(ranging from images of the built environment to found objects and text) in the city of Seattle by examining communication, through its artifacts, on a local level. In an ongoing effort to collect, study and preserve urban semiotic artifacts, discover geographically unique narratives and assemble ethnographic case studies, we collect data to study the cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We look at then investigate networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) in both static and mobile communication forms (e.g. billboards and signs to cars and buses). Not only do these networks yield temporary and permanent artifacts, but their participants range from official authorities to illicit actors. This project documents the actions of the full spectrum of stakeholders, especially from marginalized and under-represented ones.


In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle made composed of interwoven signs, competing stories, diverse actors, and social boundaries in constant flux. To organize our large body of data, we collaborate with the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections in developing an Urban Archives database, consisting of images and metadata. These urban texts become permanent part of the Digital Collections, available to the public for further research and analysis. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, we hope that we will be able<strike> to provide <strike>a valuable insights into our local histories and cultures for future scholars and citizens alike.


Giorgia's edits for now

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar cities compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting elites that are not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Urban centers, therefore, become luxury commodities, which are attractive for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted. In this process, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting high-income buyers. The resulting rapid development threatens alternate histories embedded in the materiality of the cities. In our chapter, we discuss how the Urban Archives – a digital archiving project that we have created and developed as doctoral researchers and teachers at the University of Washington – contributes to documenting, preserving and telling the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in the process described above. We use the city as a laboratory to research diverse and often unconventional forms of urban expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. Urban Archives combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.

While institutional archives tend to focus on traditional forms of documentation such as architecture, the emerging types of documentation on the Internet (such as “folksonomies”) tend to lack consistent annotation (or metadata). We see the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs that can be valuable to researchers. Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. By documenting the city’s ephemeral communication artifacts as they change over time, we develop ways to annotate the digital archives in a way that can be meaningful for research.

Committed to public scholarship, we begin our study at a local level by collecting artifacts (ranging from images of the built environment to found objects and text) in the city of Seattle</strike>. In an ongoing effort to collect, study and preserve urban semiotic artifacts, we collect data to study cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We look at networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) and mobile communication (e.g. on cars, buses). In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle made of interwoven signs and competing stories. To organize our large body of data, we collaborate with the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections in developing an Urban Archives database, consisting of images and metadata. These urban texts become permanent part of the Digital Collections, available to the public for further research and analysis. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, we hope that we will be able to provide a valuable insight into our local history and culture for future scholars.


Abstract Ok here it is still very rough and too long.

Some scholars argue that we live in an increasingly placeless world. Market forces can destroy and rebuild decontextualized places of consumption, creating a “geography of nowhere” (Zukin, 1991; Kunstler, 1994). Superstar Cities, compete to attract the investment capital of globe-trotting cosmopolitans who buy housing in trendy markets. Urban centers, therefore, become a luxury commodity that is attractive to particular groups of elites for their unique character but at the same time can be easily substituted, as typically these new elites are mobile and not tied down to one particular geographic region (Guyorko, 2006). Thus, cities essentially become global neighborhoods that require intense marketing in order to gain a competitive edge in attracting the high-income buyers to colonize the most convenient urban locations. The resulting rapid development threatens working class histories embedded in the materiality of the cities.

The Urban Archives project documents, preserves and tells the story of places that tend to get ignored, overlooked or marginalized in this process. Using the city as a laboratory, we study its public spaces and narratives. We research diverse and often unconventional forms of expression in an attempt to understand the complex relationships of power that exist in our everyday surroundings. The Urban Archives is a digital project that combines technology and institutional infrastructures with the preservation of vernacular urban texts.

While institutional archives tend to focus on traditional forms of documentation such as architecture, the emerging types of documentation on the Internet (such as folk taxonomies, known as “folksonomies”) tend to lack consistent annotation (or metadata). We see the everyday, material aspects of space as manifestations of underlying cultural values and beliefs that can be valuable to researchers. Not only do public spaces themselves function as narratives that can be mined for meaning, but they also provide shifting contexts for those narratives. By documenting the city’s ephemeral communication artifacts as they change over time, we develop ways to annotate the digital archives in a way that can be meaningful for research.

Committed to public scholarship, we begin our study at a local level by collecting artifacts (images, objects, text, sounds, video clips) in the city of Seattle. In an ongoing effort to collect, study and preserve urban semiotic artifacts in Seattle, we collect data to study cultural histories of places such as Seattle's Aurora Avenue and the Central District. We look at networks of visual expression (e.g. political graffiti and advertisement) and mobile communication (e.g. on cars, buses). In sum, we analyze the city as a diverse spectacle made of interwoven signs and competing stories.

To organize our large body of data, we are collaborating with the University of Washington Libraries in developing an Urban Archives database, which consists of the urban texts that we have collected. These texts become part of the permanent UW Libraries’ Digital Collections, available to the public for further research and analysis. By documenting the quotidian and ephemeral communication in the urban environment that is embedded in its particular temporal and spatial context, we hope that we will be able to provide a valuable insight into our local history and culture for future scholars.


Tom

the modern shopping mall co-opting the discourse of the "town square" (i.e. university village, redmond town center, bellevue square).

  • very illustrative of the nebulous privatization of public space, via creating liminal, semi-private, semi-public spaces wherein the public is invited to participate but where behavior can be controlled and enforced by private property owners.
  • this creates a sanitized public space blah blah

perhaps, in reaction to this, and out of neglect by municipal authorites, the old, public town squares have emerged as insurgent. this is somewhat speculative, nascent thought on my part.


mini cases:


  • "public billboards" the plain backs of regulatory signs have been reclaimed for taggers, sticker-ers, guerilla advertisers, etc.
  • "the ave is back" that big mural that went up before the American Apparel moved in and how taggers/writers appropriated it as a canvas for both personal and political expression


Giorgia

Also, I think that we could organize our cases by means of conceptual continua, e.g. consumed/reclaimed (e.g. the town square vs. the actual square), renewed/decaying, sanctioned/prohibited, etc. Just an idea...I am open to any other suggestions that help us theorize a bit in our discussion


Tom

Nice! That would give us some sort of structure to work with. Also, the idea of these continua seem to be pointing to some sort of balance (or lack of) by which public space is defined, negotiated, and created. Maybe we can be sure to thread all of the cases together by reinforcing the notion of conversations that are taking place in public and how these exchanges manifest themselves in the environment through the residual artifacts.

Irina

Sweet. I like the conceptual continua! for the conversations perhaps some things to talk about are: the debates about graffiti, attempts to historicize, construct identities, sanitize, etc. In the end we can also talk about how we intervene in these conversations through getting students into the streets, archiving alternative histories, gathering evidence and making it public, interacting with the media

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